a reflective and futile guide to life as an expat in england. formerly italy. formerly formerly korea.
but who really gives a shit anyway. are you still reading this? hello?

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Boryeong Mud Festival

THIS WEEKEND WAS SO MUCH FUN!

For the first time, I didn't think about work. I feel completely rejuvenated, a new soul ready to conquer my remaining 5 weeks in Seoul. We met at the express bus terminal at 8am Saturday morning. There, we hopped on a coach and drove 2 hours through the countryside to the Yellow Sea. The drive was gorgeous. Korea outside the city is lush and majestic; I stared outside the window for the entire two hours listening to the pitter patter of rain and gazing at the low mist trapped by the rolling green hills.

Our first stop was not Daecheon Beach, but rather the location where all the mud for the festival is gathered- miles of mud flats, as far as the eye could see. To our surprise, we were given the option to run the annual 5k Boryeong Mud flat race. We stripped down to our bikinis and hopped into the crowd, just in time for the starting gunshot. Running 5k in knee deep mud was brutal, but the glory when all was said and done was completely worth it.

After the race, our tour group arranged a handful of mud related activities, which of course included mud wrestling. We were divided into coed teams "A" and "B". Needless to say, Laine and I dominated the mud wrestling field. Unfortunately we only have scratches (no photos) to validate our victories.

We quenched our thirst with some Cass then headed to our hotel room (with a view of the Yellow Sea!) Laine, Yerin, Annes and I dropped our backpacks and sprinted into the waters of Daecheon beach. Sand between my toes and salt water up my nose never felt so awesome. I felt prodigiously awake and aware of life.

The rest of the afternoon was spent painting our bodies in mud, dancing, mud sliding, swimming, eating tempura corn dogs, socializing, and drinking soju/aloe cocktails. The debauchery didn't stop at sunset; around 10pm I headed to the main stage mosh pit and danced to the beats of live Korean hip hop (AMAZING!) Meanwhile, Daecheon Beach was caught in the middle of a typhoon- you can't even imagine the spectacle...

There is simply too much to be said about this weekend and my words could never do the high I experienced appropriate justice.